Minnesota Democratic Congresswoman Angie Craig was the victim of a violent attack in the elevator of her own apartment complex on February 9. She says the attacker grabbed her by the neck and punched her. She was able to throw hot coffee on the man, who fled the scene while Craig called 911.
Angie Craig is a married mother of four and became the first lesbian mother elected to Congress in 2018. Since then, she has been a member of the House Pro-Choice Caucus, the New Democrat Coalition, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, of which she is co-chair. Apparently she went from the scene of the attack directly to attend a Senate meeting with the Minnesota governor and fellow Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar, who said of the incident, “No one messes with Angie.”
Craig’s staff released a statement that they did not believe the attack to be politically motivated. A police affidavit said the man demanded that Craig let him into her apartment so that he could use her bathroom and attacked her when she refused.
The accused attacker is 26-year-old Kendrid Hamlin, who also goes by Kendrick Hamlin or Hamlin Khalil Hamlin, and had just been released from a 35-day jail sentence two weeks before for biting, kicking, and spitting blood at police officers who took him to a hospital for medical care after he was found unconscious. In the past several years, he has had several charges levied against him, including engaging in an obscene sexual act in Northwest Washington and failing to appear in court after that incident. His first arrest was in 2015 for a drug-related charge, when he would have been 17 or 18 years old. He was arrested around 5:20 p.m. the same day as the attack and charged with simple assault.
“The outpouring of support from friends, constituents, and colleagues has been overwhelming,” Angie Craig says. “From myself, Cheryl, and our entire family, thank you.”
